Artificial Intelligence (AI)

OPINION: Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasing role in policing – both in tackling crime and improving efficiency – with suggestions that it could also be key to improving public trust and confidence; but Leeds Trinity University Associate Professor Jonathan Jackson and PCDA Programme Lead Katie Oxley argue that while AI may offer valuable advantages, public trust and confidence also depend on the quality of interaction with individual officers, so ‘street craft’ and communication skills remain crucial.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Bedfordshire PCC John Tizard, the APCC’s Joint Lead on Performance, Data and New Tech Ethics, looks at the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence and technology in policing, and highlights the steps he has taken in his own force around accountability and governance, which could help achieve the APCC’s aim of a roadmap towards a strong ethical governance framework with PCCs at the centre.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Today’s law enforcement leaders are pressured to do more with less – all while managing new waves of crime, volumes of complex data and growing demands for public transparency. That’s why departments across the globe are turning to evidence-based policing powered by data and AI, to improve decision making, build trust and work more efficiently.

INNOVATION: Following the recent launch of a new framework and principles for the “ethical and responsible” use of artificial intelligence (AI) across police forces by the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA), Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to ANZPAA Policy & Research Officer Anastasia Pierakos about the aims of the guidance, the need to ensure the police use of AI is not “siloed” within specialist teams, and the importance of addressing issues such as transparency, accountability and oversight.

INNOVATION: As International Control Room Week gets underway, Essex Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Contact Operations Lead, outlines the development of AI Post-Call Analysis, which produces concise, easy-to-read summaries of all incoming control room contact and automatically categorises calls by topic to enable rapid retrieval and analysis – one of a tranche of technical innovations designed to help forces “move from overwhelmed to empowered”.

OPINION: California has become the second US state to bring in legislation requiring transparent notice that artificial intelligence (AI) has been used to draft a police report; George Washington University’s Professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson believes that, with officers in some states using predictive text to write formal statements based on audio transcripts from body-worn cameras, transparency, the training of AI models, and understanding the risks of relying on AI are among the issues that need to be examined.

FEATURE: A recent paper published as part of collection of insights by the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation highlights the role played by social media and digital networks and algorithms in creating a landscape of online extremist antisemitism; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the risks to both Jewish communities and wider democracy set out in the paper, as well as efforts to counter the digital dangers.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Fraud is rising fast in the UK, fuelled by scams and schemes that thrive on social media. In this article, Fivecast’s David Janson examines why investigators need AI-powered open-source intelligence to uncover hidden networks and stay ahead of increasingly organised criminals.

INTERVIEW: With law enforcement increasingly looking to artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency and enhance outcomes, forensic psychologist Dr Brandon May, Assistant Professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, fears that policing is becoming over-reliant on AI – particularly generative AI in areas such as investigative interviewing, which he argues require skills such as intuition, emotional intelligence or judgement that AI doesn’t have, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: With the huge potential of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) beginning to be leveraged in policing, former long-serving police officer John Kilburn, now with data and AI specialists SAS, spoke to Policing Insight about some of the potential benefits of the new technology for both the policing and the public, the importance of transparent and explainable applications of AI, and how incremental approaches to developing systems within forces can lead to long-term gains.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Salesforce and Humberside Police have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pioneer AI-powered policing. This new partnership sets out a blueprint for how technology can ease resource pressures, improve citizen trust, and modernise frontline services.

INNOVATION: A new report from Europol which offers practical guidance on tackling artificial intelligence (AI) bias in law enforcement is calling for more regular training for personnel “to deepen their understanding of AI technologies”, routine and regular multi-stakeholder reviews of AI models, and more consistent frameworks around their use, to combat the dangers of AI bias – particularly in areas such as predictive policing – as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring the opportunities and challenges presented to police by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), Chief Philip Lukens explores the unintended exposure of potentially sensitive information through a short-lived OpenAI experiment that left ChatGPT conversations not meant for public consumption accessible via Google Search, and the lessons that policing can learn from this.

OPINION: Given the abundance of digital data now circulating in society, open-source intelligence (OSINT) offers unparalleled value to investigators, but the volume of material available can be daunting for those new to OSINT, and even leave experienced investigators overwhelmed; Brett Redman, Head of Intelligence at Blackdot Solutions, provides a practical introduction for investigators on applying OSINT with clarity and purpose.

OPINION: AI-enhanced surveillance tools are already transforming policing, says Milestone Systems Fellow Dr Barry Norton, and police forces that leverage intelligent video will be harder for criminals to outsmart, better informed, and faster to the scene – while those that fail to modernise risk falling behind not just in technology, but in public trust and effectiveness.

FEATURE: The latest Europol Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) highlights the growing threat of cyber criminals – many of them inexperienced – using ‘cybercrime-as-a-service’ platforms to steal and trade data and digital information, and attempt to hold large commercial organisations as well as individuals to ransom, as Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

FEATURE: Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow has set out a range of steps Police Scotland should take to gain the maximum benefit from new technology that will “transform society and policing” – including backing greater investment in live facial recognition, particularly in the fight to prevent violence against women and girls – as Policing Insight’s Martin Gallagher reports.

INNOVATION: University of Sheffield Senior Law Lecturer Dr Joe Purshouse, and University of Southampton Law Lecturer Dr Joe Atkinson, set out the findings from a series of workshops and events hosted by the UK’s Predictive Policing Network, including the current implantation of predictive policing technology, the regulation governing its use, and the potential opportunities and challenges of future adoption of predictive policing tools – particularly in relation to the use of artificial intelligence.

INNOVATION: With the recent Counter-Terrorism Preparedness Network report focusing on the security benefits and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI), Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at some of the key issues raised by the report, as well as the work of the EU’s PRECRISIS initiative in establishing compliance frameworks around the use of AI in security contexts, which ensure that ethical standards, data privacy and personal rights can be maintained.

INNOVATION: With jurisdictions across the world looking at ways to tackle the threat of deepfakes – particularly those of a sexually explicit nature – Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the AVALANCHE project in developing new tools and techniques to address the issue, as well as the wider impact of the Strengthened Security Research and Innovation area of the Horizon Europe programme for security.

INNOVATION: An artificial intelligence (AI) model is currently being developed by Cheshire Constabulary in conjunction with two universities to spot stalking behaviour and identify offending patterns earlier in investigations; Detective Chief Inspector Danielle Knox explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons how the new technology will be used, the training process for the AI algorithm, and the potential opportunities to expand its use into other threatening behaviour offences related to violence against women and girls.

OPINION: The recent publication of the UK’s new National Policing Digital Strategy 2025-2030 is a welcome development, argues Sharad Rathi, Global Operations Director of HCLTech, but policing will need more than the promise of new institutions if it is to deliver on the strategy’s ambitions – particularly in the current financial climate.

INNOVATION: With police leaders facing traditional challenges alongside often unrelenting change and the development of new technology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice professors Dr Maria Haberfeld and Detective Corey Simpson outline the qualities and attributes that leaders of the future will need – including social intelligence, change intelligence, and artificial awareness intelligence.

INTERVIEW: Humberside Police has become a story of turnaround success, from being the first UK force to be rated ‘inadequate’ to becoming graded in most areas as ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’, and technology has played key part in the transformation; Police Insight’s James Sweetland spoke to the force’s Chief Digital and Innovation Officer Scot Dunn about the role artificial intelligence has played in that journey, the importance of focusing new tech on supporting victims, and the difference a national policing centre could make.